Miami Heat: Dwyane Wade can get Hassan Whiteside on track
Dwyane Wade at point guard could open up a whole new game for the Miami Heat.
It has been well documented that Pat Riley is not the most patient team president in the world; years of bartered draft picks prove that, which is why it had to hurt him to his core to talk about having some with Dwyane Wade.
But after the debacle that ran Wade to Chicago in 2016, Riley knows he cannot afford to make a similar mistake.
Where does he fit though?
The concept of positionless basketball is the new norm in the NBA. However, the term head coach Erik Spoelstra helped coin has the Heat fielding a team full of shooting guards. Six, to be exact, if Wade comes back (seven if Josh Richardson ever gets time at his natural position).
Count that as the only thing ESPN‘s Brian Windhorst thought could possibly push Wade to China.
Not to mention what some would say is the redundancy of Wade and Dion Waiters. Two guys who have and are expected to close games with daggers, then proclaim the AmericanAirlines Arena as their house, island or county.
However, thinking in terms of traditional positions will put the immediate future into perspective.
Instead of classifying things the way Spoelstra has in public, Miami should go the Cleveland Cavaliers route with Wade. Shift him into the backup point guard role, while the team looks for someone young to develop.
Why? Because it opens a few possibilities.
One being Wade and Waiters’ ability to put pressure on the opposition by attacking the rim and swinging the ball. Waiters showed that he could do so in his first year in Miami, averaging 4.3 assists. And Wade has had multiple 7.5 assists seasons with a career average of 5.5 per game.
Even bigger is the duo’s potential to open up the game for Hassan Whiteside.
Injuries were an excuse, but Whiteside’s season was actually spoiled by the difference between reality and the illusion that he needs more touches in the paint.
The feeling fades by putting him back on the court with two guys who thrived at getting him easy pick and roll baskets.
Sharing the floor with Waiters in 2016-17, resulted in 46 assisted baskets. Doing the same with Wade was even more of a success:
"“During the 2014-15 season (his first with the Heat), Whiteside was assisted by Wade 41 times overall with 39 successful lobs into the restricted area… The following season, Wade assisted Whiteside 92 times with 84 makes in the restricted area…”"
So why not put the ball in Wade’s hands and see if he can get his big man back to the numbers that gained him $98 million–playing the exact type of game that just got Clint Capela paid in Houston.
There is no doubt that no one is more effective at making Whiteside look efficient. That should be enough to toss the sixth man ball handling duties, Wade’s way.